Tender Mercies in Life

In life you have a choice.  You can choose to go through life looking for the times you failed, the times things didn't go your way, the times when you feel like you were cheated out of something you thought you deserved.

Or you can choose good.  To see the good, to see the silver-lining, to recognize those little tender mercies.

This weekend we had to drop my car off at the dealer to get repaired.  A weird sloshing noise and an engine that was threatening to over-heat definitely let me know something was wrong.  All weekend we were down to one car, which wasn't too big of a hardship as on the weekends we do most things as a family anyway.

Monday rolled around and the car was still being fixed.  Eric went into work later than usual so he could drop the kids off at school.  I had decided, partly by lack of making any arrangements, that Ryder and I would walk the mile to school and pick the kids up.

Part way through the morning, I heard it, a whoosh and a howl. The winds had returned.  I live in a spot that is notorious for horrific winds. Winds that keep you up at night, that literally shake the house on really severe days.

I was now regretting my decision to walk to the school.   Ryder already had a runny nose and the long walk would feel near impossible with the winds trying to push us every which way, but it was time to go.

I paused and said a prayer, asking my Father in Heaven for a tender mercy at this time, to please let the winds be calm while we made this long walk.

Ryder went to the bathroom while I heard the winds rattle the doors.  He finished, we got on our shoes and coats and began our walk.  The wind quickly become a breeze and then at times there was no wind at all.

We made it over the bumpy rocks, where no sidewalk exists until we made it to the smoother trail. I was now beginning to feel warm and pulled off my jacket.  We continued our walk, making it with plenty of time to spare.

Alex and Lucas got dismissed and we began the walk back home.  Cars zipped past us, I was envious of their fast progress.

"I love walking home." Alex pipped in. "You get to notice and see a lot more things when you walk.  When we drive we just go so fast that I miss these things."

I couldn't help but smile and start to look around myself.

We made it back to our subdivision and turned back into our cul-du-sac.  The leaves and trees started swaying and the winds howled in their return.  We hurried inside and shut the door from the winds swirling around us.

I paused and said a prayer of thanks.

The little tender mercies in our lives, the good in times of bad.. do you notice them, do you recognize them for what they are?

I know I probably miss a lot, but I try, try to see the good, try to see the times when I am watched out for, try to see the tender mercies of life.

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I will be linking this up tomorrow with Shell's PYHO